Beet harvester



Feb. 113, 1923. Y 1,445,535 R. MORESCHINI BEET HARVES TER Feb. 13, 1923. l,445,535

' R. MORESCHINI BEET HARVESTER Filed Dec. 8, 1919 b sheetssheet 2 Feb. 13, 1923.

R. MORESCHINI BEET HARVESTER Filed Dec.

@wom/:m

5 sheets-sheet 5 BEET HARVESTE R Feb. i3, 1923.

RONALD Monnsciiinr,

ory PUEBLO, cononnno.

B EET HARVESTER.

Application :tiled December To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that l, RONALD Monnsorimi, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pueblo, in the county of Pueblo and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Beet Harvester-s, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to machines more particularly intended for the harvesting of beets. The Object of my invention is to provide a unitary structure capable of lifting thebeets from the ground, elevating them to a crowning mechanism and delivering them to a suitable receptacle.

In thel description which follows I shall refer to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure-l is a side elevation of a beet harvester` vembodying my invention; Fig'. 2 is a top plan view thereof; Fig. 3, is a vertical longitudinal sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 isa top plan view of 38 pivotallymounted in the mainframe l` a' conventional illustration of the topping,

digging and conveying mechanism, the' springs surrounding the stems 48 being omitted for the sake of clearness; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view on the line 8-8 of Fig. l; and Fig. `(5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view on the line 9 9 of Fig. 3.

y The main supporting frame` of the machine comprises structural steel bars l, preferably channel bars to which are secured bearing blocks 2 for the axle 4 of the tractor wheels 5, the forward ends of the frame bars converging'into a platform to which suitable front steering wheels, not shown, may be pivotally secured in the usual manner. Y

The plow which loosens the `soi-l and uproots the beets after they have been topped consists of two members 30, spaced slightly i apart'l and each carried by a bracket 3l, depending from a frame 34, which'is provided at each end with vertical rackbars 35 at each side. These four racks are engaged by gears 36, secured in pairs topintle rods 37,

and which are actuated by the hand-lever 40 to raise and lower the frame 34. The front and rear pairs of gears are connected to move simultaneously by the connecting link As the beets are lifted by thefplow 30, they are guided by the rods 33, between' the grippers which are carried by the links 47 of the endless chain conveyors. Each gripper comprises two concave gripping plates or fingers 8, 1919. Serial No. 343,217.

46, carried by the two endless chains and which grasp Jthe beets from opposite sides, as each matmgpair of grippers is brought over the plow members. The .plates are slidably mounted upon pairs of rods 48 secured to the links and are yieldingly held by springs ll-9... rlhey will thus yield to conform to different sizes of beets, so that the latter will not be bruised as they are conveyed upwardly from the plows.

The forward end of the chains pass over idler sprockets 50, journaled on stub shafts 5l carried byshoes 52, the latter being secured between pairs of. beams 54 extending forwardly from the yoke brackets 57, swiveled on the rear axle 4. The outer members of the beams'54 are provided with rearward extensions 54. i

The rear chain drivingv sprockets 56 are secured to shafts 58, mounted in brackets 57 and carryingupon their lower ends bevel pinionsy 59 which mesh with `bevel gears 60 carried by the main drive axle 4. Slack in the chain may be taken up by the adjustable sprockets 55.

After the beetsy have been topped of their leaves, it isl desirable that a small portion of the `-,rmvn of the beet should be removed,I but this should be done accurately and gauged in accordance with the sizes in or der to avoid waste. l provide crown cutters' 62 carried by sleeves (33, which are slidable on the *shaftsl 58, but are driven thereby by means of pins 64 project-ing from. the shafts and passing through slotsv 65 in the sleeves,

In order to gau'gethe amount that shall be cut from the crown of the beets' and vto vary the cut according to the size I provide governing mechanism which autoinatically adjusts the distance of the crown cutters 62 from the grippers 46. This mechanism co1n prises an endless belt 67 which passes over the drive' pulley 68 at the rear end and over an idler roller 69 at the front end,- tlli'e pintle rod of the latter passing through slots in the arms of a `yoke support 70' secured to the stub shafts In order that the roller 69 may yield upwardly to permit the passage of a large beet or one' wnich stands high from the grippers, the pintle of the roller is yieldinglj forced downwardly in the slot? ted yoke y arms by springs 7l which surround the'stems of Lbolts 72 which extend through holes inthe bridge of the yoke 70, the eyes ofthe bolts surrounding the pintles. The belt is maintained taut by an idler roller 73 carried `by levers 75, pivotally mountedlon the gear pintle 37 and yieldingly` held by springs 77 attached to the yoke 70.

The pintle 6G of the driving pulley (58,.is

.mounted in yoke brackets 78 which are carried by the sleeves 63, the pulley being driven from said sleeve by means of the gears79, 80. A gauging roller 81 is carried by a pair of lever arms 82 which are pivoted at their rear ends by pin and slot connections to standards 83, the latter being vbolted to the frame bars 5451.` llhe'pintle rod .Iside-of the belt engages the tops of the beets and travels with them as they lare conveyed by the gripper chains. As the beets pass underithe gauge roller 81, they lift it varying amounts depending upon the heightzof 1 the beet. from: the gripper.

p The upward movement of the lever arms 82, carries the pulley .68 and the yoke brackets 7 8, andthe latter presses upwardly upon the thimbles 85, guide plate 86, wedge blocks 87 and head 'plate 89,the latter bearing` upon the nuts 90 which are threaded on the ends of the driving sleeves 64. `It is evident, therefore, that-when the gaugeroller 81 is lifted by the passage ot the lbeets thereunder, the

movement will beV transmitted through the several engaging parts to the upper ends of the sleeves 63, thereby sliding the latter Vupwardly on the shafts 58 and elevating the cutters `62 a corresponding amount above their normal position with respect to the grippers. :In this manner theamount which `wil1 be cut from the crown of eachbeet is accurately gauged or governed. p

While the above-described gauging mechlfanism' serves to regulate they amount `cut from the beets dueto varying lengths and irregularity in height above the `grippers, I have found that large beets require a larger amount to be cut from the crown and yhencel have provided means for causing a thicker cut to bemade on the larger beets. For this -purposel provide means for automatically sliding the lsplit wedges 87 outwardly lto thereby permit the yoke brackets 78 and thimbles 85v to slide upwardly on the sleeves 63 a-certain distance before the headplate 89 is pressed lagainst the end nuts 9,0.v .Thewedges 87 are secured to angle arms 92, the `depending portions telescopically engaging the upright arms of brackets i* 93, the latter being provided with slots 94 which `permit lateral movement but are restrained from vertical movementby collars 95 on'the shaft58. rl`he gear 79 isslidable on the sleeve 63, but is keyedfor driving" connection therewith by means of a pin 97 `entering a slot in the sleeve,Y thereby per- .the liftingl action exerted on the llevers 82 movement device.

mitting the' gear to slide along-the sleeve when the yoke brackets 781are moved upwardly by the levers 82 at the time the wedges 87 have been moved outwardly.

` rl`he inner ends 93 oit' the brackets 93 are provided with depending guide portions 98,

the inner faces of which lie one upon each `side ofthe beets as they pass the cutters. 4The forward ends of these guide members outer sides ofthe grippers iorce-theguides apart, sliding the bracket arms 93 outwardly and thereby causing the arms 92 to separate the wedges 87to a .greater dis'- tanceand permitting'rthe head plate 89'to drop belowy the end nuts 90.` Accordingly,

as the beet passes under the gauge `roller'81,V iirst vcauses the pulley 68, and yoke brackets 78 to move upwardly. away from` the cut-v ters 62, an amount depending upon the distance the wedges 87 have been slid outwardly, until'the head plate 89 comes into contact with the end nuts 90'and then the cutters move along with the pulley. i. This initial spacing movement of the gauge roller 81 and pulley 68 from the cutters, `permits a thicker slice to be cut fromjthe largerbeets in proportion to their size. l, f.

lFor the purpose of causingeach of the vguide flanges 98 Vto move outwardly-anequal distance and to maintain their'parallel -relation and prevent any torsional strains between'the telescoping portions Vof the arms 92 and 93, l connect the front and rear ends of the portions 93a, by means .of a parallel This consists of two crossing` horizontal members 100,A 101, piv- .ctally connected at `2102 where they inter-` sect, ,each having vertical legs 1001, 100b, and 1011, 101@` respectively. Oneor more springs 105 tend to maintain the members 93"L and their depending anges 98 intheir inner positions, so thatafter the passage off each beet the parts will be restored to' normal or initial positions. .i 1 v As the beets leave the cutters 62,-.they may bev received by` a chutel o1? conveyor which delivers themto a wagon or toa receptacle as illustrated in myl priork Patent No,Y 1,366,477 dated January 25, v1921, or in any other well known manner. dent that lthe beet crownsmay be. delivered in a similar manner., z fr The bars 54 which .carry -theendless conveyor chainsv and the crown cutting` mechanism` are pivotally mounted on the rear axle 4, by meansof theyoke vbrackets 57iand It is falso. evithese parts may be rocked about the axle and secured'at'desi-red inclination, tocorrespend with anyparticular elevation of the plow by means of the-chains110 attached` to the pintle rods 51, and adjustably secured to hooks 112 secured to the frame 34.

The operation of my beet harvester will he understood from the foregoing detailed description of the parts of the machine.

v The frame. 34 is first adjusted by the lever 40 to bring the plow to the proper elevation and the frame of the endless gripper conveyors is then correspondingly adjusted by means of the chains 110. As the machine is drawn or propelled across the field, the topped beet-s are loosened and lifted by the plow and are separated from the earth as they move along the guide rods 33 and are grasped by the grippers 4G, which carry them under the crown cutters and deposit them in a suitable chute, receptacle or conveyor as desired. The crown cutters are adjusted in elevation to correspond with the height of each beet as it passes under the gauge roller Si, while a thicker cut is automatically made upon large size beets in proportion to their size.

I claim l. In beet harvesting machineA` a crown cutting mechanism, conveying mechanism for carrying the topped beets beneath said cutting mechanism, an endless beltl movable over said conveying mechanism and adapted to bear upon the beet crowns, and means cooperating with said belt for automatically adjusting the crown cutting mechanism in accordance with the dimensions of the beets.

2. In a beet harvesting machine, a crown cutting mechanism, a gauge for the height of the beets comprising an endless belt en* gaging the beet crowns, and means cooperating with said belt and actuated by virtue of the size of the beet for regulating the position of the cutter.

3. In a beet harvesting machine, a crown cutting mechanism, a conveyor for carrying topped beets thereunder, and means for automatically adjusting the position of said cutting mechanism in accordance with the dimensions of the beet comprising a pulley revolubly mounted above the cutter, and adapted to engage the crown of the beet, and means adapted 'to be separated laterally by engagement with the sides of the beet.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

RONALD MORESCHINI. 

